Medical Breakthroughs, Research, and News

[Kung Wu]

Get your spray-on-liver and choose from one of these FIVE fabulous colors!

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Vaccine that Could Cure and Even Prevent Brain Cancer Developed by Scientists

In Boston, a potentially-revolutionary treatment for deadly brain cancer is showing promising early signs in mice both for the eradication and prevention of tumors and individual cancer cells.

A vaccine in the true sense of the word, the method involves repurposing living cancer cells to destroy the tumors which spawned them.

Cancer cells have very particular characteristics, one of which potentially makes them even better cancer-killers than immune molecules. That characteristic is their ability to travel long distances through the body returning to the tumor they came from.

By using a similar technique to CRISPR called CRISP-CAS9, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston were able to change proteins within the living cancer cells to prime tumors and other cells for destruction. The priming got the immune system involved, which then resulted in the mice in immunological memory just like vaccines for viruses.

In experiments, it worked on mice carrying cells derived from humans, mimicking what will happen in patients, which had the deadliest form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

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I'm not making excuses for the obese. Most people who are overweight it honestly comes down to personal choices. Even with that, there are people who try really hard to to drop fat and really struggle and it's not entirely because of choice. We know that metabolism and such work differently for different people and some people gain weight much easier than others and others can lose weight much easier than others. This new treatment could potentially help with some of that in the future.

Breakthrough Obesity Treatment in Early Research Can Target bad Fat Anywhere in the Body

Folks struggling with obesity might wonder that with all the medical miracles modern technology has produced, how come there isn’t a more sure-fire way to get rid of excess body fat?

Well now, researchers at Columbia University have found that a positively charged nanomaterial called P-G3 interacts with negatively charged fat cells in obese mice that could open the door to precision non-invasive body fat removal.

As fat cells (adipocytes) take on energy in the storage form of fats, called lipids, genetic changes cause them to behave in a chronically obese manner, and not like that of a fat cell from a normally-weighted person.

Reversing these changes is at the heart of the Columbia researchers’ experiment. Discovering that the structure of the cell’s exterior was negatively charged, they thought it might act as a transporter for their P-G3 nanomaterial, but they were surprised to find it acted on the cell by shutting down the lipid storage functions of the adipocytes.

This however did not interfere with the cells’ other functions. In the mice who received the P-G3 injections, their adipocytes reverted to more metabolically healthy fat cells, the kind one might find in newborns or athletes.

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More movement towards helping those who have trouble with movements.

'Wearable Muscles' Restore Mobility in Those Who Have Trouble Moving Their Arms

A pioneering set of “wearable muscles” with a profile similar to a shoulder sling could increase mobility and strength in the arms of people who have lost it.

As algorithmic intelligence advances, more and more engineers are attempting to design different prosthetics to replace lost mobility, but many are large, bulky, complicated, or extremely expensive.

Michael Hagmann has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Bethlem myopathy, but his muscular output was increased 61% thanks to a kind of exo-tendon called “Myoshirt” which learns the movements Hagmann wants to make before raising and lowering a cable similar to a human tendon in order to apply mechanical advantage to his actions.

“Although hospitals have numerous good therapy devices, they are often very expensive and unwieldy,” said Marie Georgarakis, a former doctoral student at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology’s Sensory Motor Systems Lab in Zurich.

“And there are few technical aids that patients can use directly in their everyday lives and draw on for assistance in performing exercises at home. We want to close this gap.”

The Myoshirt is a soft, wearable exomuscle for the arms and shoulders; a kind of vest with cuffs for the upper arms accompanied by a small box containing all the technology that is not used directly on the body.

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Good news.

Cancer Death Rate In US Falls 33% Since 1991

The rate of people dying from cancer in the United States is continuously declining.

According to a new report from the American Cancer Society, the death rate has fallen 33% since 1991.

The drop has meant 3.5 million fewer deaths.

The report claims the steady progress is due to less people smoking, more screening, early diagnosis and improvements in treatments.

"New revelations for prevention, for early detection and for treatment have resulted in true, meaningful gains in many of the 200 diseases that we call cancer," said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society.

Cancer death rates in children and adolescents have seen huge declines. Since the 1970s, cancer death rates in children have declined by 71% and by 61% for those ages 15 to 19.

There has been a 65% drop in cervical cancer incidence since 2012 among women in their early 20s.

The cancer types that now have the highest survival rates are thyroid at 98%, prostate at 97%, testis at 95% and melanoma at 94%, according to the report.

Current survival rates are lowest for cancers of the pancreas, at 12%.

Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the United States.

There are a number of encouraging areas of research that should help this trend continue and the survival rates of various cancers increase.

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It's only a matter of time

Revolutionary Structure for Cancer-Killing Vaccines Could Make Treatments 3x More Effective

Cancer-killing vaccines could be made drastically more potent, according to scientists at Northwestern University, who say their new technology would arm vaccines with a “powerful weapon with which to kill cancer”.

By changing its architecture, their vaccine was able to double the number of T-cells (a type of white blood cell) available to attack tumors.

They believe their development could make any vaccine far more powerful and more effective at beating cancer.

The team at the University’s International Institute for Nanotechnology focused on seven different types of cancer with the same vaccine structure used for all, but switched-out with a different cancer protein that “clips” on—“not unlike adding a new charm to a bracelet”.

Vaccines are made up of the antigen and an adjuvant, a substance used to boost the strength. Currently, conventional vaccines blend the two together.

Unhappy with that “mish mosh” approach, the team proceeded with the premise that the structure of vaccine components were as important as the components themselves.

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This makes some sense to me.

Visiting Green Spaces 3-4 Times Weekly May Lower Your Need for Meds, According to New Study

Hanging out in a local park, lake, or garden really could be an antidote to ill health for people who live in cities, according to a recent study from Finland.

Researchers found lower use of drugs for depression, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and asthma among urban residents who often visit green spaces—regardless of their income or level of education.

The Finnish team said that the frequency of visits to urban green spaces, rather than simply viewing them from your house, was key.

Previous studies have suggested that exposure to natural environments is good for health and well-being, but the evidence is inconsistent.

The Finnish team looked at the number of green and blue spaces (bodies of water) within a community, then compared those to both the frequency of visits, and the views of such spaces from home, to see if they were separately associated with the use of certain prescription medications.

They chose prescription meds as a proxy for ill health and those for anxiety and insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, in particular, because they are used to treat common and potentially serious health issues.

They drew on the responses of 16,000 randomly selected residents of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa—the three cities making up the largest urban area in Finland.

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New development out of Australia. I know some won't support this, but some will.

MDMA and Psilocybin-Assised Psychotherapy Approved in Australia for Treatment-Resistant Depression and PTSD

Australia’s version of the FDA surprised the nation in early February when they announced that psilocybin and MDMA would be considered medicines, and prescribable by psychiatrists for various mental health disorders by July.

Psilocybin, the psychoactive component in psychedelic mushrooms, and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, are two of the most effective treatments for dangerous and persistent mental health disorders like treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.

The current illegality of these substances in most countries makes them difficult to study in large trials, but small ones have been universally successful.

For psilocybin, Johns Hopkins University found it reduced symptoms of depression by 71% when combined with assisted psychotherapy, and prevented any return in symptoms in 54% of trial participants.

In 2021, the Department of Neurology at UC San Francisco also concluded a phase III trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for victims of PTSD and found it improved symptoms by 88%, and smashed the FDA criteria for safe and effective.

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said it considered several thousands of written public submissions before making its decision.

There have long been studies that have shown the positives of this in regards to some mental health areas. I do know there is at least one US company that has been working to develop and get FDA approval for similar drugs. I know they're optimistic that they'll get there in time. I hope Australia continues to see success going down this path and that it will carry over and open things up in the US and elsewhere.

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Protein Key to Osteosarcoma May Unlock Treatments for Deadly Bone Cancers That Affect Kids

Treatments for deadly bone cancers that mainly affect children may be on the horizon after experiments identified a protein that promotes cell death in osteosarcomas.

Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University said the discovery could lead to a cure for all types of skeletal tumors.

Osteosarcoma is the most common bone cancer, but it occurs mainly in children. They are linked with rapid bone growth and tend to develop in boys more often than girls due to average height differences.

Osteosarcoma has a 55% survival rate, which has unfortunately not improved this century, and scientists are keen on developing potential medicines since surgical removal of the osteosarcoma tumors is often impossible.

At Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, researchers have identified a bone matrix protein called secreted phosphoprotein 24 kD (Spp24) that binds to and neutralizes a protein called bone morphogenetic protein 2, which has properties that help the tumors grow and proliferate.

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CRISPR Gene Editing Reverses 'Permanent' Vision Loss in Mice - Offering Hope for Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients

The ‘three blind mice’ of song could actually be seeing again after scientists restored vision in breakthrough research that could reverse the condition in people as well.

The hereditary condition retinitis pigmentosa is one of the most common causes of blindness, affecting one in every 4,000 people. Now, researchers in China have used a genome-editing technique to correct a mutation that leads to the condition in both mice and humans.

Not only did the genetic correction lead to the mice regaining their sight, but the mice were shown to retain their sight well into old age.

The study team, from the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, hope this promising new method could soon be used to similarly restore people’s vision in years to come.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) can be caused by mutations in more than 100 different genes. Symptoms begin with the dysfunction and death of dim light-sensing rod cells, before the disease spreads to cone cells required for color vision. Eventually, RP leads to severe and irreversible loss of vision.

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Pretty cool development that could benefit many down the road.

New Brain Implant Device Could Restore Function in Paralyzed Limbs

A brain implant that can restore arm and leg movements has been developed by British scientists to boost connections between neurons and the paralyzed limbs, offering hope to accident victims.

The device combines flexible electronics and human stem cells – the body’s ‘reprogrammable’ master cells – to better integrate with the nerve and drive limb function.

Previous attempts at using neural implants to restore limb function have mostly failed, as scar tissue tends to form around the electrodes over time, impeding the connection between the device and the nerve. By sandwiching a layer of muscle cells reprogrammed from stem cells between the electrodes and the living tissue in rats, the researchers found that the device integrated with the host’s body and the formation of scar tissue was prevented.

The cells survived on the electrode for the duration of the 28-day experiment, the first time this has been monitored over such a long period.

The researchers say that by combining two advanced therapies for nerve regeneration – cell therapy and bioelectronics – into a single device, they can overcome the shortcomings of both approaches, improving functionality and sensitivity.

“This was a high-risk endeavor, and I’m so pleased that it worked,” said Professor George Malliaras from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who co-led the research. “It’s one of those things that you don’t know whether it will take two years or ten before it works, and it ended up happening very efficiently.”

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One Stem Cell Injection to Target Inflammation Slashed Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke By 58%

A large trial showed that a single injection of a patient’s own stem cells into their heart was able to reduce inflammation and risk of heart attack and stroke by 58% if they had heart failure.

6 million Americans have clinical diagnoses of heart failure, a condition designated by a lack of ability for the heart to pump blood sufficiently.

“For the first time, we’ve discovered that stem cells can successfully treat the inflammation that causes heart failure,” study lead author Dr. Emerson Perin, told the European Pharmaceutical Review.

It’s the largest clinical trial of cell therapy for heart disease to date and demonstrated several positive results. Before understanding the cure, it’s worth taking a moment to understand the problem.

When less than 40% of the blood inside the heart is pumped out into the body, an individual has heart failure, and could in theory at any moment suffer a cardiovascular event like a heart attack. This is called left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), with a healthy person’s fraction being 55%-70%.

Because inflammation is closely associated with heart disease—both arise from the same poor lifestyle patterns which cause the majority of cases of heart disease—cardiologists at the Texas Heart Institute designed a treatment that could address the inflammation.

What they selected were stem cells taken from a patient’s bone marrow called mesenchymal precursor cells, which are replicated in a lab via proprietary methods developed by a pharmaceutical company called Mesoblast, and injected straight into the heart.

I'm always amazed at the things they come up with to help in different areas.

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This is beyond me.

FDA Clears First Study of CRISPR Gene-Editing in Human Patients

In a national first, the Food and Drug Administration has given Intellia Therapeutics the go-ahead to begin testing a drug that uses CRISPR gene editing in vivo.

In biology, in vivo means within an organism, rather than in something like a petri dish, and Intellia’s offering is the first time ever that the FDA has approved such testing.

Their drug would prevent swelling attacks in people with a genetic condition called hereditary angioedema.

Typically, treatments and drugs that utilize CRISPR take place outside the body. Cells or tissues are removed and altered ex vivobefore being re-introduced inside the patient. In the case of Intellia’s drug, the edited media finds its own way to the liver rather than being injected there.

The advantages are huge if such a drug could be proven to work well—a lack of hospital and laboratory procedures would save a patient thousands, and potentially open up the class of drugs to the lower and middle classes, or to those who are uninsured.

“This is an important milestone for Intellia as it is the first-ever (investigational new drug application) cleared by the FDA for in-vivo gene editing,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Luca Issi said in a report on Inetllia’s stock, which rose following the announcement.

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Male birth control on the horizon?

Contraceptive Pill for Men Nears Reality After Major Breakthrough

A ground-breaking contraceptive pill for men could be just around the corner after scientists identified a gene that, once removed, temporarily renders sperm infertile.

The potentially historic breakthrough contraceptive pill would also have no hormonal side effects and could be additionally used on animals to quell overpopulation and replace castrations.

The research team discovered a protein encoded by this gene, found solely in the testicular tissue of most mammals, which reduced sperm counts and deformed remaining sperm to make them incapable of fertilizing an egg when altered.

Crucially, and exactly like the female contraceptive pill, the destabilization of the infertility protein is not permanent, meaning sperm will recover once the person or animal stops taking the pills.

The team from Washington State University (WSU) observed that male mice lacking the gene called Arrdc5 located in testicular tissues produced 28% less sperm which moved 2.8 times slower than in normal mice.

The results of the study appear to indicate that the protein encoded by this gene is essential for normal sperm production.

Study authors Dr. Jon Oatley and Dr. Mariana Giassetti have already filed a provisional patent for the development of a male contraceptive based on this gene and the protein it encodes.

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This Gel Stops Brain Tumors After Surgery, Offering Hope for Glioblastoma Cancer Patients

Medication delivered by a novel gel cured 100% of mice with an aggressive brain cancer, a striking result that offers new hope for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most common brain tumors in humans.

“We think this hydrogel will be the future,” said study leader Professor Honggang Cui of Johns Hopkins University.

Cui’s team combined an anticancer drug and an antibody in a solution that self-assembles into a gel to fill the tiny grooves left after a brain tumor is surgically removed.

The gel can reach areas that surgery might miss and current drugs struggle to reach to kill lingering cancer cells and suppress tumor growth.

The gel also seems to trigger an immune response that a mouse’s body struggles to activate on its own when fighting glioblastoma.

When the researchers re-challenged surviving mice with a new glioblastoma tumor, their immune systems alone beat the cancer without additional medication. The gel appears to not only fend off cancer but help rewire the immune system to discourage recurrence with immunological memory, researchers said.

There's a lot of promising cancer research going on and this is another one that almost sounds too good to be true.